October 27, 2008

RACE: Are We So Different?Commentary from Hartford Children and Community Leaders Available Through Comcast

BERLIN, CT – (October 27, 2008) – Comcast, the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, is making available a unique dialogue about race in Connecticut available through its signature On Demand service. The wide-ranging discussion, which took place at the “RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center this summer, features insight from Hartford community leaders and children from the Urban League of Hartford.

The "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit is part of an extensive award-winning public education program developed by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to promote public understanding of race and human variation. AAA received grants from the Ford Foundation and National Science Foundation totaling nearly $4.5 million to develop and produce the traveling museum exhibit, a website, and educational materials.

One of the main goals of the project is to foster informed discussions about race. Yolanda Moses, Co-Chair for the RACE Advisory Board, is encouraged by Hartford’s devotion to understanding what race is and isn’t, and Comcast’s commitment to the RACE Project: “This partnership with Comcast is just one of the many examples of how good resources like the information provided by the RACE Project can be spread to even more people through the social responsibility values of large companies.”

Comcast served as the media sponsor of the RACE exhibition at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, which explored the origins and manifestations of race and racism in everyday life in America. The exhibit inspired a dialogue about race in Connecticut among community and business leaders as well as youth from the Urban League of Hartford, all of whom shared their personal perspectives and insights on race in the state.

“RACE: Are We So Different?" relays a powerful message to those who had an opportunity to experience it during its first New England stop,” said Kimberly Hatcher-White, executive director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. “We are very grateful to Comcast for their sponsorship while the exhibit was on display here at the museum during the summer. We are especially pleased with their continued efforts to keep the conversation of diversity going through their innovative technology.”

Customers can access the RACE discussion from the On Demand menu by selecting the “Get Local” category, followed by “Comcast Cares” and “RACE Exhibit.” The eight minute video will be available for viewing through the end of 2008.

Looking through the lenses of sciences and humanities, RACE Are We So Different? helps individuals understand the origins and manifestations of race and racism in everyday life, and come to their own conclusion that race is a dynamic and sometimes harmful human invention.

Founded in 1902, the American Anthropological Association is the world's largest professional organization of anthropologists and others interested in anthropology, with an average annual membership of more than 10,000. The Arlington, Va.-based association represents all specialties within anthropology — cultural anthropology, biological (or physical) anthropology, archaeology, linguistics and applied anthropology.